Punctuation

The pauses of speech and how to write them.

In Hîsyêô, punctuation is not just for grammatical organization; it is a direct instruction for prosody (the rhythm and pauses of speech). When reading aloud, every mark corresponds to a specific length of silence or intonation change

Sentence Terminators

Period

Latin	Abugida	Syllabary
.	:	.

Periods are used to end sentences. In spoken Hîsyêô, this is longer pause than a comma and a shorter pause than a semicolon.

Question Marks

Latin	Abugida	Syllabary
¿ ?	≈	?

In the latin script, question marks are placed surrounding a sentence that is a question. In the other scripts, there's no additional preceding mark. These marks isn't strictly necessary for the sentence to be interpreted as a question but it indicates that the speech pattern is one of a rising question intonation.

Exclamation Point

There is no exclamation point in Hîsyêô. If you want to indicate that a sentence is aggressive or emotional, use the ze sentence ending particle. If you want to indicate that a sentence is delivered with shock, surprise, dismay, or excitement, use the foxo sentence ending particle.

Pauses & Separators

Comma

Latin	Abugida	Syllabary
,	､	,

Commas are used to end sub-clauses or for long lists. In spoken Hîsyêô, this is the shortest pause used. They are strictly reserved for these grammatical purposes and cannot be used in the more free way that you might be used to from some native languages. If you think you need a comma for an emphatic pause, use the em dash.

Latin

 hôn  fos  nîmû  li  nô,  kûu  xokûlû  noyo. If you go, call me.

ɽʋʄꜿɟʌ

 ɂ̃ı  ɤ́  ƨɟƶʄ  ʓȷ  ƨı､  ɔʄɽʃ  ɋɔʄʓʄ  ƨɀ: If you go, call me.

aStK ulNfu

 hoN  fS  nimu  lj  no,  kur  xkulu  ny. If you go, call me.

Em Dash

Latin	Abugida	Syllabary
—	—	—

Anytime you would use a comma or other punctuation to indicate a pause that isn't strictly grammatically required, use the em dash. Commas have a specific usage in Hîsyêô which is best preserved (even though the spoken—or rather, unspoken—effect is the same). In spoken Hîsyêô, the em dash is either an abrupt pause which upsets the natural prosody of the speeech or it fits rhythmically in the pattern of speech as a rest.

Latin

 noyo— bi  hokîkî— li  sî  gô  hoî  ulyô. I—truthfully—was there.

ɽʋʄꜿɟʌ

 ƨɀ— ʋȷ  ɂɔɟɔɟ— ʓȷ  ɐɟ  ꜿı  ɂɽɟ  ɽ͊ʃɀı: I—truthfully—was there.

aStK ulNfu

 ny— bj  hkiki— lj  si  go  hAi  rLyo. I—truthfully—was there.

Semicolon

Latin	Abugida	Syllabary
;	ʭ	;

Semicolons are used to combine two independent sentences into one to signify that they have some relationship. In spoken Hîsyêô, this is only a slightly shorter pause than a period. You may want to use the normally-elided causer/agent marker to help improve understanding of the independence of the clauses but it's not strictly necessary.

Latin

 nîo  li  bîcûon; ( û)  nîo  li  sî  conzodo. He is tired; he went to sleep.

ɽʋʄꜿɟʌ

 ƨɟɽ  ʓȷ  ʋɟꞇʄɽ̃ʭ ( ɽʄ)  ƨɟɽ  ʓȷ  ɐɟ  ꞇ̃ⱴʌ: He is tired; he went to sleep.

aStK ulNfu

 nia  lj  bicuaN; ( u)  nia  lj  si  cNzd. He is tired; he went to sleep.

Colon

Latin	Abugida	Syllabary
:	–	:

Colons are used to indicate large lists. In spoken Hîsyêô, this is a long pause and a slight intonation change to the word just prior to the colon.

Latin

 nûs  buswen  uyo  ôfo:  kûôxi,  oksûn,  ûn  yoûtî  xîmu. We need these things: fruit, meat, and some water.

ɽʋʄꜿɟʌ

 ƨ́ʄ  ʋ́ʃʒ̃ɿ  ɽʃɀ  ɽıɤ–  ɔʄɽıɋȷ､  ɽ̑ɐ̃ʄ､  ɽ̃ʄ  ɀɽʄcɟ  ɋɟƶʃ: We need these things: fruit, meat, and some water.

aStK ulNfu

 nuS  brSwqN  ry  of:  kuoxj,  aKsuN,  uN  yAuti  ximr. We need these things: fruit, meat, and some water.

Quotation Marks

Latin	Abugida	Syllabary
« »	｢ ｣	《 》

Quotation marks are used to surround direct speech. In spoken Hîsyêô, sometimes there is a short pause before and after to indicate a direct quote.

Latin

 nîo  kôto  sî « bîolî»  mût  noyo. He said "hello" to me.

ɽʋʄꜿɟʌ

 ƨɟɽ  ɔıc  ɐɟ ｢ ʋɟɽʓɟ｣  ƶ̆ʄ  ƨɀ: He said "hello" to me.

aStK ulNfu

 nia  kot  si 《 biali》  muT  ny. He said "hello" to me.

Proper Name Marks

Latin	Abugida	Syllabary
(None)	‹ ›	〈  〉

In the Latin script, a capital letter is used to indicate a proper name and it will always be directly after a word (the nucleus) or phrase that indicates what that name is for. In spoken Hîsyêô, there is a slight pause and often an intonation change. If the nucleus is a single word, the stress can often be suppressed completely and shifted over to the proper name.

Latin

 sinsî Xikogô City [of] Chicago

 umo Zon Person [named] John

ɽʋʄꜿɟʌ

 ɐ̃ȷɐɟ ‹ɋȷɔꜿi› City [of] Chicago

 ɽʃƶ ‹ⱴ̃› Person [named] John

aStK ulNfu

 sjNsi 〈 xjkgo 〉 City [of] Chicago

 rm 〈 zN 〉 Person [named] John